RE: photographing the ac races

The first America (a replica) and the most recent (New Zealand and Italy) challengers.   These were taken 8/27 in San Francisco where I went with my brother and sister for a few days to see the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series.  Can you imagine the NZ boat going over 50 miles an hour in a 20 knot breeze 100 yards offshore?  In the picture on the right she was only doing 38 knots or about 42 miles per hour.   The wing sail is 131 feet, larger than the wing on a 747.  As seen in the right picture, the hulls are completely out of the water when they reach or go downwind.  Sort of like an iceboat. 

They only race in winds below 22 knots because it is too dangerous.   For more google America's Cup.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/magazine/a-sea-change-for-the-americas-cup.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130804&_r=0

America's cup

Trials at San Francisco

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Bahamas Revisited

Hello KYC cruisers!

Do any of you recognize Green Turtle Cay?

You are invited to view my most recent works 

at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center - 128 Ocean Ave. 

Monmouth Beach, NJ 

Wed - Sat, 10 AM - 2 PM.  

Over 30 of my paintings and drawings are on view through July 20 

Join me on Saturdays from 11 - 1 PM or at the 

Gallery Chat on Sunday, July 14 from 2 - 4 PM.

See you there?

Florrie Hill (SVs/La Liberté and Harmony)

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active captain

Found a new (to me) site:   Activecaptain.com    Sort of like the Waterway guide combined with Captain Bob.  Shows nautical maps with anchorages, marinas, shoaling etc.  You need to sign up but it is free and you can see other peoples reviews or make your own. 
Now that it has turned warm, all the boaters are in various stages of going north.  The migration has begun!   Us too.  We were going to head out today BUT there is a fire about 10 miles north of us which has closed I-95 because it has combined with fog.  The ICW is just a few miles downwind from there.  Then there is a front coming down from the NW with rain and thunderstorms.  Looks like next week would be a good time to join the parade.

Once again,  THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF CRUISING IS HAVING A SCHEDULE.

Yesterday we drove up to Cape Canaveral to see some friends (Kal and Brian) who have hauled "Serenity" to fix their saildrives which lost both engines to a fishing line (actually parachute cord) getting wrapped around the props.   Really good to see them again.

dolphins

 

A few weeks ago there was a mother and baby dolphin that would come around our boats.  The little one seemed to be stuck to its 6' mom's side with invisible glue.  This week, all of a sudden there was a "new" smaller dolphin (about 3' long) fishing on its own.  I named it "Zippy" because it zoomed around, chasing fish, and splashing like a maniac.  I think "mom" was enjoying a more leisurely lunch a short distance away.  We have been so lucky to watch a dolphin grow up this winter!  Maybe sometime I'll get a picture of Zippy again.

Hanging out in Vero

Went out to get on the dink...

There was supposed to be a picture here of a cormorant sitting on the swim ladder sunning itself.  I think it is somewhere in cyberspace.

Florida? Winter???

This living on a boat for the winter seemed like a good idea because...??????? !!!!!  It is 48 in the galley this AM and has been since I got up at 7.  Now the closed-in cockpit is warm enough to enjoy without gloves and a hat but the laptop isn't readable there because the light it too bright!!!!!  Everyone has their generators going this am - it sounds like warm up for the Daytona 500 around here!  Is this really what you imagine as Cruisers???? Brrrrrrrr!

Florrie's art at
FineArtAmerica: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/Florence+Bramley+Hill/all

Lew & Florrie's Valentine Adventure

Wonderful plans for Valentine's Day:
After opening our presents Lew & I would take the bus to the beach area (check), walk to our favorite shore restaurant for lunch (check), then walk the mile to the terrific ice cream store for dessert. It started to rain a little so we took the bus there and had yummy desserts (check). The rain was very light so we walked (check) back to the marina (about a mile) and sat in the lounge for awhile. Nice. The rain began to look serious so we decided that we'd better get back to Harmony. NOT what we had planned!
Oh well - Florida needs the rain.

Vero

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Same marina, different mooring

    

Good Morning My Friends,

Today I am so content I could purr… We moved ½ mile up the (Vero Beach City Marina) mooring field to one of my FAVORITE spots on the planet.   We're surrounded on three sides by mangroves.  It is quieter here and less light so the stars are much more visible.  I think I heard a dolphin at 6 AM…. a manatee?  The bikes are finally off the boat and chained to the racks by the Capt's Lounge.  We're "home"… for the winter!  

Lew was surprised at how happy I was to move from mooring #2, near the bridge, to #54.  Oh well.  With the bikes off, finally, I'm cleaning the cockpit this morning. There was a large, fist-sized mud wasp's nest and 5 little ones behind the bikes!  Yikes.  No wasps though.  With the 4 tree frogs we found in Oct in St. A, we were beginning to harbor a veritable Nature Preserve on this boat.

Funny story:  When we got the water tanks "filled" 10 days ago, I got a shower when the tank "burped"!  It spewed like a volcano from the intake on deck, straight up! I cracked up, totally surprised, and the dock hand had to have been amused - never having seen THAT before.  Thank heavens it was a warm day.  Well, yesterday was a warm day again and this time I let Lew do the filling and he got the "shower".  No laughing… but I was glad it wasn't me!  This boat sure has some unusual idiosyncrasies. Eventually we'll figure this out so it won't happen again (I hope).

FYI - we decided not to go to the Bahamas this year.  We have a new granddaughter due around March 16th so it will be easier to go home for a week or so from here.  I hope the weather cooperates!  

Stay warm and I hope you are enjoying your winter, too, as much as possible.

Much Love,

Florrie

http://CatamaranHarmony.blogspot.com
and Florrie's art at
FineArtAmerica: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/Florence+Bramley+Hill/all

Same marina, different mooring

Changing Batteries.

Today was the day to replace all 6 of the batteries.  Old ones out and new ones in while the boat is on a mooring.  All transportation by dinghy.    Marine batteries are very heavy (about 60 lbs apiece) and, when you have to crawl into the engine compartment and lift them almost to eye level while you are on your knees...  Luckily I had help for that part then he left.  The old ones were almost 7 years old and don't really owe me anything.  I wired each of the new ones  BUT when we tested everything, the two bilge pumps did not work.  Now which wires did I not connect?   On and On but finally, after 5 hours total, everything is working and powered. 

Sunset at Vero

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1st Day

Leaving St. Augustine 

January 23rd - Happy 17th Birthday Maddie!  

Now we're 52 miles from St Augustine, made it to Daytona in 8 hours.

It was cold when we left at dawn, slipping off the dock into the quiet slack tide, only the osprey and herons protesting our passage.

Lew was at the helm all day while I read, napped, made lunches, etc.  Dolphins rolled in the water around us now and then.  Pelicans were hunkered on their docks or pilings, keeping warm.  

But the afternoon warmed up.  Fifty miles makes quite a difference in temperature.  Once we dropped the hook in Daytona's ICW, my work started… cleaning the outside windows/hatches of months of dust, beginning to clean the fenders of grime and sea vegetation, and washing at least half the isinglass in the cockpit so Lew can see better tomorrow.  Now it's 5:15 and I've decided to take a break while the generator gives me the juice to work on my laptop.  NO email today - I can't get onto any WIFI until we get to Vero.  Hopefully tonight will be warmer than last night!  It should be.

This afternoon I'm pretty sure I was hearing a race at the Daytona Speedway to the west.  Lots of shore noise, engines revving on the turns I think -  for a long time.  Now Lew is grumbling about the generator - it's leaking water and shut off too soon.  It's always something!  So I'll close for now.

http://CatamaranHarmony.blogspot.com
and Florrie's art at
FineArtAmerica: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/Florence+Bramley+Hill/all

LiveAboards

           Lew           Wally        Wayne

Florrie        Connie    Gaye             Judy

Nora                         John                Bob

 

A joyous afternoon at Hurricane Patty's. 

present location

29 53,1827N  081 19.2929W  is our present position.  You can cut and paste into Google Earth.  In that image Harmony is the last cat in that line...taken about a year ago. 

We're Baaaaaaaaaaack

'r

Yes it is true.  We finally made it back to the boat in Saint Augustine and all is well.  Company from the 16th to the 20th and then we are free to do whatever. 

Merry, Happy ... and may it last all year.

QE2 and fuel efficiency

Interesting fact.  According to Snopes, the QE2 does not get 6 inches per gallons as rumored.  It actually gets between 40 and 50 feet per gallon.  If we assume 50, then it uses 105.6 gal to go a mile.  Top speed is 32.5 miles per hour then  3432 gallons per hour.  Fuel capacity, according to Cunard is one million gallons for a 7500 mile range.  Doing the math the fuel weighs about 8,000,000 lbs.  If they pay $3.00 per gallon, that is $3,000,000 for a "fill-up" after 230 hours of travelling (9.5 days).   

Sandy and Keyport

While Sandy pounded the Keyport fishing pier (lost the shack) and 5 boats rode it out on moorings,

our fearless leader was painting the bottom of Harmony in Florida.  BUT from now on, the yard has to do it...DEA strikes again.

Letter to some cruising friends.

Bob and Judy,
Good to hear from you. Florrie has gone back to NJ to sing at a friends wedding and is dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. Our condo did OK and the little boat we bought is fine. The dinghy we kept at the condo has disappeared. The yacht club, 1/2 block down lost the launch driver's shack and Freezer at the end of the dock and a lot of boards. Boats on the hard in the main boatyards got slammed and lifted off the jackstands by a 14 foot tidal surge. Looks like dominoes. Some friends had major damage to their houses but no one lost their life, There were five boats who decided to sit Sandy out on the moorings fully exposed to the wind and waves and all are still there. We did lose a lighthouse in the middle of the bay. Nothing but a rockpile and cement slab left. It seems really strange that Florida did fine and NJ got hit by the hurricane. I am sure you are aware that the Bounty, a replica used in the movie, was lost at sea along with her captain and one of the 16 crew. They had gone out to weather the storm at sea. and were about 90 miles offshore of the Outer Banks of NC.

I am still in St A and waiting for the guy to come and give the heat exchanger an acid bath. Although only the port engine needs it now, I will have them do both. I have learned that this what you have to do on a catamaran, It is the last thing on the list although, last night, the toilet decided to quit and will be my job for today. Oh Joy! If they get the engines working, I will leave tomorrow and go down the ICW to stage at Vero for a crossing.

Your boat, Greenstone, looks fine. Right next to a working generator. We did have some electrical problems over the summer here so the dehumidifier didn't do much. I need one that will turn itself back on after a pause in the power. A little mildew but not too bad.

Last night was interesting, It was almost dark when I heard a "who, who whooooo" from outside. I went out to scare the pigeon when a hugh owl flew away from the top of my mast and flew over to the top of a mast of a boat on the hard. Of course, he returned later to my boat but only for a short while. I hope that doesn't mean anything about rodents on the docks.

Hope to see you down the "road".
Lew